Participants

Demos Kazanas, GSFC

Accretion Disk MHD Winds and the Blazar Sequence

We propose that the so called blazar sequence can be reproduced in
terms of MHD winds off the accretion disks that feed the blazar black
hole. The fundamental structure of this model is
a 2D extended (size $\sim 1$ pc) disk MHD wind with density profile
$n(r, \theta) \propto n_0(r_0/r)exp(-\theta/\theta_0) ~ (\theta_0
\simeq 10$ degrees), obtained by solving the 2D MHD equations,
which: (a) Plays the role of the `molecular torus' invoked in AGN
unification. (b) It provides a dynamically well defined geometric
structure within which the relativistic jet propagates. We calculate
the radiation field within the wind region that results from both
electron scattering the AGN continuum radiation and its reprocessing
into lines. Using this radiation field we can model the resulting
Fermi LAT spectra as a function of the wind mass outflow rate $\dot
m$ and the observer's inclination angle $\theta$. We find that low
values of the mass flow rate the spectra are consistent with those
of BL Lacs while converting to those of FSRQs for larger values of
this parameter, thereby relating the Fermi LAT spectra to the
underlying global AGN structure.